Hourly News updated 14:00 2011/11/17

 Chinese Premier¹ leaves for East Asian leaders' meetings in Bali

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has left Beijing to attend a series of meetings for East Asian leaders in Bali, Indonesia.

The premier will attend the 14th China-ASEAN summit commemorating² the 20th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, as well as the sixth East Asia Summit. 

Wen Jiabao will also pay an official visit to Brunei, the first by a Chinese premier in some 20 years.

 

 

19th ASEAN Summit kicks off in Bali, Indonesia

Heads of state or government of southeast Asian nations are gathering³ in Bali, Indonesia for a summit to solicit⁴ cooperation on reaching the ASEAN Community by 2015.

The 19th ASEAN summit is attended by leaders from its ten member states. 

The meeting is set to address a broad range of issues impacting the region such as global economy, disaster management, climate change, food and energy security and regional integration⁶, among others.

 

 

U.S. seeks more cooperation opportunities with China: Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama says that the U.S. sees future in the Asia-Pacific region and wants more cooperation opportunities with China. 

When addressing Australia's Parliament in Canberra, Obama says Asia is critical to achieving his highest priority: creating jobs and opportunity for the American people.

Obama has also reaffirmed that the US is not increasing its military presence in Australia due to the threat from the rising China.

 

 

Education authority urges inspection⁷ of school buses after deadly accident kills 20

China's Ministry⁸ of Education is calling for an urgent nationwide inspection of school buses.

The announcement comes after a severely⁹ overloaded¹⁰ school bus collided with a truck in the northwest Gansu Province, killing¹¹ 20, including 18 pre-schoolers.

The bus, designed to carry 9, was packed with 64 when the accident happened.

The emergency notice issued by the central authorities calls for a safety review of all the school buses across the country.

Any of them found to be at risk are to be pulled off the road.

 

 

Death toll¹² climbs to 10 in NW China restaurant blast

The death toll from an explosion that ripped through a restaurant in northwest China's Xi'an early this week has risen to 10 following the death of a hospitalized victim.

32 people are still receiving medical treatment, including two in critical condition.

The blast, triggered by gas leak, struck the first floor of the Jiatian International Mansion¹³, a commercial building. 

Most of the victims were passersby¹⁴ including children on their way to school.

 

 

Shenzhou-8 departs from in-orbit lab, ready for return

China's unmanned spaceship Shenzhou-8 is getting ready to return to earth.

The spacecraft has decoupled from the Tiangong-1 prototype space lab, and is due to return to earth later tonight. 

As part of its time in space, Shenzhou-8 has successfully docked twice with Tiangong-1. 

The experiments are critical to help establish a manned Chinese space station by 2020.

 

 

Lucas Papademos government wins confidence vote

Greece's new coalition¹⁵ government has won its first confidence vote by a wide margin¹⁶.

255 of the 300-member parliament have voted to support the unity⁵ government of Lucas Papademos.

The vote should now pave the way for the government to ratify¹⁷ the new eurozone bailout for Greece, which is critical to keeping the country from defaulting.

Prime Minister Papademos.

"The European mechanisms¹⁸ that were created for the financial support and to deal with the crisis do not have the firepower. And its operational flexibility¹⁹ is also required to avert²⁰ the spreading of the crisis."

Papademos is trying to build up support to try to secure its new 130 billion euro bailout deal.

He is also faced with the daunting²¹ task of trying to rally support for the country's highly unpopular austerity measures.

 

 

Rockets explode near Afghan Loya Jirga venue²², 1 injured

Explosions from at least three rockets were heard at the venue of Afghanistan's grand assembly Thursday morning.

Witnesses say at least one person was injured.

The four-day traditional gathering, known as Loya Jirga, is attended by more than 2,000 tribal²³ elders, lawmakers and government functionaries²⁴. They are discussing the proposed strategic partnership²⁵ with the U.S. and government-initiated peace talks with Taliban militants²⁶.

The Taliban have threatened to attack the gathering.

 

 

China proposes tighter air quality index from 2016

China's environment watchdog says PM 2.5, a new and tighter air quality index, is going to be implemented²⁷ nationwide in 2016.

The move comes amid mounting public criticism of the current air pollution monitoring standards.

The current standard being used only calculates particles 10-micrometers or higher.

A recent spate²⁸ of high-pollution in Beijing has prompted a lot of discussion about the air-quality standards, given that there is a wide disparity in what the local government reports, compared to the standards used by others, including the US embassy.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 solicit   

vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意)

参考例句：

• Beggars are not allowed to solicit in public places.乞丐不得在公共场所乞讨。
• We should often solicit opinions from the masses.我们应该经常征求群众意见。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

14 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

17 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

18 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

20 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

21 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

22 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

23 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

24 functionaries   

n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Indian transmitters were court functionaries, not missionaries. 印度文化的传递者都是朝廷的官员而不是传教士。 来自辞典例句
• All government institutions functionaries must implement state laws, decrees and policies. 所有政府机关极其工作人员都必须认真执行国家的法律，法规和政策。 来自互联网

25 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

26 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

27 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

28 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。